1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video-enabled baby monitoring system which can transmit information to a variety of platforms, including, for example, intranet, internet, telephone line, and smart phone.
2. Description of the Background Art
This section describes background subject matter related to the disclosed embodiments of the present invention. There is no intention, either express or implied, that the background art discussed in this section legally constitutes prior art.
The development of wireless technology has made possible the transfer of various kinds of data rapidly, including high resolution images. The present invention makes use of this technology in combination with numerous other technologies to provide a baby monitoring system which provides advantages over other baby monitoring systems of the kind commonly known in the art.
A method and apparatus applying digital image filtering to color filter array data is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,570,810 to Rai et al., issued Aug. 4, 2009. The invention relates to a method and graphics controller for processing an image where color filter array (CFA) data representing an image is received from a digital image capture device into a buffer, a digital filter effect is applied to the CFA data to generate filtered CFA data representing a filtered image, and the filtered image is displayed in real time on a display.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,603,080 to Richenstein et al., issued Oct. 13, 2009, describes a multiple channel wireless communication system. The invention relates to a wireless headphone device which may include a receiver for receiving a wireless digital signal containing a plurality of digital audio streams combined with control codes according to a predetermined format. A manually operated selector switch is used to select one or more of the plurality of digital audio streams to be produced as audio for the user. A decoder is used to extract the selected audio streams from the received signal in accordance with a predetermined format and for responding to the control codes in the received signal to perform predetermined functions. A wireless headphone system may include a receiver which is responsive to a transmitted digital bitstream in which a plurality of audio input channels are combined with control data, for decoding and demultiplexing the digital bitstream. A manual selector switch may be used for selecting one or more of the audio input channels to be decoded and demultiplexed by the receiver from the transmitted encoded digital bitstream. A sound producing device is used to selectively reproduce one or more selected audio channels in accordance with the control data.
While the multiple channel wireless communication described above with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 7,603,080 relates to audio streaming, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art of digital data streaming that a similar kind of system may be used to produce a wireless digital signal containing a plurality of digital image streams as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,822,387 to Gross, issued Oct. 26, 2010, describes a remote monitoring process. The invention is related to a remote monitoring device which is integrated as part of a cell phone or personal digital assistant. By sharing computing resources of a communications transceiver, the cost of a monitoring device is said to be significantly reduced, while still permitting sufficient functionality to effectively observe an area of interest, such as a child's sleeping area. An alert is generated and transmitted to an observer using a separate transceiver when activity at the monitored area meets a specified threshold. The activity may be related to sound or video.
A child monitor system with content data storage is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,973,665 to Desrosiers which issued Jul. 5, 2011. The invention relates to a child monitor system which includes a child unit having a sensor to capture content, and a parent unit having a processor and a user interface communicatively coupled with the processor to reproduce the content captured by the sensor. The child unit and the parent unit are said to be configured to communicate via a wireless communication link carrying content data representative of the captured content. The system further includes a memory communicatively coupled with the child unit or the parent unit and configured for non-volatile storage of the content data.
A method, system, and computer program product for managing controlled residential or non-residential environments is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,116,889 to Krzyzanowski et al., issued Feb. 14, 2012. The invention relates to a control server, or similar central processor which manages the distribution of data (including audio and video), voice, and control signals among a plurality of devices connected via a wired and/or wireless communications network. The devices include audio/visual devices, such as televisions, monitors, PDA's, notepads, notebooks, MP3, portable stereo, and other similar devices known in the art. The devices may be household appliances, such as lighting, ovens, and alarm clocks, for example. The control server supports video/audio serving, telephony, messaging, file sharing, internetworking, and security. A portable controller allows a user to access and control the network devices from any location within a controlled residential and/or non-residential environment, including its surrounding areas. The controllers are enhanced to support location-awareness and user-awareness functionality.
A system of managing communication network capacity is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,388 to Gailloux et al., issued on Mar. 13, 2012. The invention relates to a system for managing communication network capacity, where the system includes a processor, a data store, an analysis component, and a message component. The data store stores information associated with communication metrics for customers. The analysis component, when executed by the processor, determines a mean and standard deviation for the communication metrics based on the stored information. The analysis component also determines whether the stored information associated with communication metrics for one of the customers is a predefined number of the standard deviation from the mean for more than a predefined number of days. The message component, when executed by the processor, sends a message to one of the customers in response to a determination that stored information associated with the communication metrics for one of the customers is the predefined number of the standard deviation from the mean for more than the predefined number of days. This system is designed to determine excessive usage, which is used to help determine whether customers may need a different service plan for a digital communications company, and to determine message priority within a large system, for example.
A system and method for management of a shared frequency band is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,175,539, to Diner et al., issued May 8, 2012. The invention relates to a system, method, software and related functions for managing activity in a radio frequency band that is shared, both in frequency and time, by signals of multiple types. Signals occurring in a frequency band are detected by sampling part or the entire frequency band for time intervals. Signal pulse energy in the band is detected and is used to classify signals according to signal type. Using knowledge of the types of signals occurring in the frequency band and other spectrum activity related statistics (referred to as spectrum intelligence), actions can be taken in a device network or network of devices to avoid interfering with other signals, and in general optimize simultaneous use of the frequency band with the other signals. The spectrum intelligence may be used to suggest actions to a device user or network administrator, or to automatically invoke actions in a device or network of devices to maintain desirable performance.
The references discussed above are only a very small portion of the references which exist in the art. Applicant is providing these references because the kind of technology described in these references could be used in combination with other technology to implement portions of the elements which make up applicant's invention. Applicant hereby incorporates by reference the subject matter of all of the references discussed above, so that it is clear that applicant's description is fully enabling.